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'It was Bradford husband's idea to scout Jewish areas'

A couple went on multiple trips to Jewish-populated areas to scout potential targets for a bomb, a Court heard.

But hairdresser Shasta Khan, 38, accused of a string of terror offences, has denied any wrongdoing and blamed her Bradford husband Sajid, 33, She said searches on the internet for terror-related
explosives, chemicals and extremist propaganda were the work of Sajid, who has already admitted terror offences.

Khan, on trial at Manchester Crown Court, denies any involvement in her husband’s terror activities.

It is alleged police found a cache of terror-related material after being called to a domestic dispute at the couple’s home in Oldham, last July.

Following the argument, Sajid left the marital home to return to his parents’ home in Bradford and Shasta Khan then “spilled the beans” on her husband, the court had heard earlier.

Beheading videos, propaganda glorifying Osama bin Laden and bomb-making guides were seized along with peroxide and bleach, used by Khan in her work, which together with electrical equipment were
being readied to make an improvised explosive device, it is claimed.

A satnav from her Peugeot 305 showed they had visited Jewish areas in Manchester. The prosecution claims they were looking for targets.

Simon Drew QC, defending, asked the defendant to explain why she had been driving around Jewish areas.

“What I thought was, ‘Nothing to do, don’t know where I’m going and he’s taking me for a drive and he’s looking at houses because he’s nosy,” Khan told the court.

But the defendant also said that after her husband asked her to perform a number of U-turns and drive down the same roads it “didn’t seem right”.

“But I was always too scared to say anything to him,” she added.

Mr Drew asked about incriminating items found on an Acer laptop and a desktop computer found at the couple’s home. Khan said her husband would use her login details for her Facebook and eBay
accounts where a search was made for “shotgun cartridges”.

The defendant said she “hardly ever” used the laptop so anything on there must have been her husband’s doing.

She said she had never seen a downloaded ‘Executions File’ which contained 71 videos of people being killed.

And she also denied any knowledge of a terrorist handbook or a course manual produced by the Mujahideen.

Khan denies engaging in conduct in preparation for acts of terrorism and three counts of possessing information useful for committing or preparing for an act of terrorism between August 2010 and
July last year.